All The Right Reasons
by RavenclawSweetheart8
Summary: "Why do you do it? I'm the architect. For me, it's creating an entire world, a world that can never exist. But what is it for you?"  "The money. I do it for the money." "You're lying. I know you, Arthur, and that's not you." -Belongs to Nolan, not me.-
1. Chapter 1

"Why do you do it?" She asked suddenly, putting her fork down lightly on the table.

"I'm sorry?" Arthur asked looking up.

"Extracting," Ariadne replied. "Why do you do it? I'm the architect. For me, it's creating an entire world, a world that can never exist. But what is it for _you_?"

He swallowed. "The money. I do it for the money."

She stared at him a moment longer before picking her fork up. "You're lying." She said simply. "I know you Arthur, and that's not you."

The truth is, he had never thought about it before. He _had_ done it for Dom. He had never been able to say no to him, no matter how many times he had nearly gotten them both killed.

Now, though, Dom was back with his family, his career in extracting done for good. Eames, Yusuf, and Ariadne, however, had gone straight back into the field.

_"Hello?" Arthur answered the phone sleepily. It was two in the morning, and the incessant ringing had woken him from his dreamless sleep._

_"Arthur? It's Ariadne…" The voice on the other end was calm, but there was a hint of urgency to it. "We've got a job. Are you in?"_

_"What about Dom?" He asked, sitting up and running a hand through his messy hair._

_She hesitated. "He's done, Arthur."_

_"Alright." He agreed finally._

_"Good. I'll meet you at your place later, to go over some papers."_

_"Sounds good." He yawned._

_"Bye," _

_"Wait, Ariadne—" The sound of the dial tone flooded his ear. "—It was nice talking to you…."_

He didn't know why he had agreed. If it had been Yusuf or Eames he would have said no, he'd moved on.

But he knew it was a lie.

Just like the others, he kept his totem, a loaded die, near him all the time. It was true, what Cobb had said— Once you'd gone into the dream world, you couldn't get enough.

But that wasn't the only reason anymore. Now, his reason was sitting across from him sharing a dinner in his Los Angeles apartment.

"Arthur?"

He blinked. "Sorry," He muttered.

"Daydreaming?" She smiled.

_She has a beautiful smile,_ thought Arthur. "The only way I can anymore." He laughed.

"Do you miss it?"

He paused. "Dreaming? Sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" Ariadne asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Yes. Before, you couldn't control them. Now, though, you create them."

* * *

This is amazing," Arthur called to her, gazing around at the buildings, bridges, and streets she had created.

Ariadne blushed. "Thanks."

Finally, he walked over to her. "Let's see how kind your sub-conscious is, shall we?"

"I'm not sure if that's a good—" She started, but was interrupted by a projection turning onto the street ahead of them.

"Quick, gimme a kiss," He teased, looking back at her.

"Shut up, Arthur." She hissed. "This isn't a good idea."

"And why is that?"

"I—" She glanced up to see another projection joining the first, the two watching them curiously. "I don't know what they're going to do." She whispered, grabbing on to Arthur's arm and pulling him in the opposite direction.

He laughed, following her. "Relax, Ariadne. It's just a dream. They jump me and I wake up."

Ariadne grimaced. _Jumping_ him isn't exactly what she assumed her sub-conscious would do…

They turned left, onto a side street, coming face to face with another projection, this one a pretty blonde girl Ariadne recognized from the college.

"Hello," the projection cooed, brushing past Ariadne.

"Pretty friendly, if you ask me." Arthur smiled, looking back at Ariadne. "For now anyway."

"Arthur," Ariadne said, grasping onto his elbow. "_Look_." He followed her gaze. Behind them, the first two projections they had seen were walking towards them, trapping them between the three projections.

"We're fine," he replied. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"They can beat the crap out of you, that's—" The blonde projection stepped forward, pushing Ariadne out of the way, sending her stumbling backwards into a towering brick building.

"Whoa, Ariadne—" Arthur started forward, but the projection cut him off.

"Hey, handsome," She purred, running her hand down his chest, her fingers dancing lithely over the buttons on his jacket. "Where do you think you're going?"

Arthur stepped back, away from the projection, stumbling over himself in the process.

"Careful, tiger." A second projection caught his arm, winking at him, before he hit the ground. "Wouldn't want hurt ourselves now, would we?" She laughed, helping him to regain his balance.

"Ariadne, what—" He was silenced as the third projection, a skinny redhead, sauntered forward and kissed him full on the lips.

She giggled as she pulled away, her fingers stroking his cheeks. "Oh, come on, Arthur."

"Arthur!" Ariadne called out to him, hidden behind the three projections. "Move!"

He turned, puzzled, and found himself facing the barrel of a small handgun. It clicked, and everything went black.

* * *

Ariadne was furious. Ripping the tubes out of her arm, she stomped off towards the door, making it halfway across the warehouse before Arthur came to.

"Ariadne, wait!" She paused in the doorway, refusing to turn around to meet his gaze. "What was that about?" He asked, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. "Is that what your sub-conscious wants to do to me?"

The door slammed behind her, and Arthur was alone in the warehouse. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. He fingered the phone in his shirt pocket. _Should I call her?_ He decided against it. _She'll come back. She always will._

* * *

_**A/N: Sooo... Reviews are great. ^^ This is my first attempt at something other than a oneshot, so, let me know if I should continue? :3 Also, If you'd like, you can send me ideas for what you'd like to see in the story. o: That would be amazing. 3~**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Three days._ Arthur swore under his breath. It had been three days since Ariadne had stormed out of the warehouse. He had been expecting her to return within a few _hours_.

The door to the warehouse clicked open, and Arthur jumped to his feet.

"Morning," Yusuf nodded as he entered, carrying his briefcase full of assorted sleep medicines.

Arthur scowled and ran his hand through his hair, a habit he had picked up recently. "Have you seen Ariadne?" He asked Yusuf, glancing once more towards the door.

"She still isn't back yet? You must have really ticked her off." Yusuf chuckled lightly. "Er, I mean…." Arthur glared at him. "Sorry, I'll just…" He shook his head and headed to the back of the warehouse where the lawn chairs were set up for the team's dreaming.

Arthur glanced at his watch. 7:13. _Damn it, Eames._ Arthur thought. _Always late._

At that moment, the door clicked open again, the sound of shuffling footsteps entering onto the concrete flooring from the carpeted floors of the hall outside. "Eames, you're late…. Again." Arthur called over to him.

"Sorry," Eames replied. "Look who I found out in the hall."

Arthur glanced over his shoulder to see Ariadne, arms crossed, jaw set, glaring at the ceiling.

"I was _going_ to knock." She mumbled.

"Sure you were, darling," Eames chuckled. "Sure you were."

Ariadne blushed.

"So I'll leave you two alone," Eames continued, heading towards where Yusuf had begun setting up for their next practice run. "If I wanted to see this I'd watch a bloody soap opera."

Arthur watched him go before turning and walking over to Ariadne.

"Look, I'm—" She began, letting her arms drop to her sides.

"No, no." Arthur interrupted. "_I'm_ sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"But you were _joking_!" She said, staring at him incredulously. "I'm the one who lost my temper."

"So you don't want me to apologize?"

"No, I do," She paused, biting her lip.

"There's just no winning with you, is there?" He grinned.

Ariadne's lips twitched in an effort not to smile. "No, there really isn't."

* * *

"I just need someone to test this," Yusuf said, showing Ariadne the bottle. "You'll go under quickly, about five minutes. Same as usual. I'll leave Arthur here to see how it goes."

Ariadne nodded. "Sounds good." She sat back in the chair as Arthur leaned forward to attach the sedation tubes to her wrist. She noticed how his hand lingered slightly over hers before he withdrew it, sitting back in his chair to watch her.

Sighing, she settled into the chair, closing her eyes. She felt three drops of the cool liquid splash over her lips, before she drifted off into the dream.

* * *

Ariadne was standing under a green and white striped awning outside a fancy-looking hotel, watching the projections around her hurrying from building to building to avoid the heavy rain. _Even they don't like the rain,_ Ariadne smiled. There was something comical about the way they scurried about like ants.

"There you are," Ariadne turned to see a projection of Arthur standing behind her, offering an umbrella out to her. "Shall we?"

She nodded, ducking under the umbrella with him. "Where are we going?" She asked, watching his face. He was still Arthur, even if it was just a projection.

"It's up to you," He shrugged.

Ariadne scowled. She hated making decisions. "How about, umm, here?" She motioned to a door to their right.

"Ladies first," Arthur smiled.

Ariadne blushed, before ducking inside. Blinking, she glanced around the dim room before turning an even brighter shade of red. They had walked into a hotel lobby.

Arthur was watching her, a bemused expression on his face. "I didn't…" Ariadne stuttered. "I just…. The rain. Somewhere dry…." She let her voice trail off as Arthur walked up to the reception desk.

"One room, please." He said, taking the offered keys. Turning around, he glanced back at Ariadne. "You coming?" He winked before walking toward the elevators.

* * *

Ariadne sat up with a start, reaching down to pull the tubes out of her arm.

"Whoa," Arthur said, grabbing her arm. "Easy." He released her hand, carefully removing the tubes himself, rubbing the spot on her wrist where they had been. "Nice dream?" He asked, watching her carefully.

"Y-yeah," Ariadne blushed. "Did you get the results for Yusuf?"

"Got 'em." He smiled. "Want to go with me to return them?"

Ariadne nodded. "Sure."

They were quiet as they walked across the warehouse to return the results to Yusuf.

"Thank you," Yusuf smiled. "How did it go?"

"Perfect." Arthur grinned. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He nodded to them, before heading off toward the door of the warehouse.

Ariadne looked at the folder curiously. "What exactly did that do?" She asked Yusuf.

"Arthur didn't tell you? Oh," He placed the folder on the table. "It makes your dream visible to those around you _outside_ your dream. Brilliant, no?" Yusuf laughed.

"It… _what?_" Ariadne gaped at him. "You mean Arthur could see my dream even though he wasn't in it?"

Yusuf nodded, flipping through the drawer in his desk. "It'll be a lot of help, don't you think?"

* * *

_**A/N: Sorry it was short. :/ Writer's block is a terrible thing. Still, ideas and reviews are lovely. ^^ **_

**_The next chapter might not be out as quickly, but at least you got this one out of me. o: We should celebrate- my first ever non-oneshot! whoo~_**


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur had a smile plastered to his face as he stepped out of the elevator onto the first floor of the warehouse. It was an inconspicuous building; three floors of old boxes and equipment, and the fourth floor- their office of sorts. You couldn't exactly display your business in street corner shops when your business happened to be illegal.

Clutching his keys in one hand, he quickly checked the weight of the die in his shirt pocket. _Reality, all right._ Exiting the building, he wondered how long it would be before Ariadne discovered exactly what Yusuf's test had been. He winced. _Don't want to be there for that._

He hadn't _meant_ to see it either, really. _Damn Yusuf. He could have warned us._ Although, even if he had known, he wouldn't have been expecting… _that_.

_All right, so maybe her sub-conscious had been a hint._ He admitted, climbing into his car, a simple, yet elegant Mercedes Benz. _A big hint._

He smiled at that. Working with Dom had meant no social life, which, more often than not, went hand in hand with no love life. Not that he had tried. After what had happened to Mal and Dom he doubted he would ever be able to put that much weight on someone's shoulders. Even if he trusted them completely, the risks were too great.

According to Dom though, the heart and the brain were two completely different organs and rarely, if ever, agreed on anything.

Arthur glanced toward the sky as he pulled to a stop outside his apartment building. Dark clouds hovered ominously, and thunder rattled in the distance. He couldn't help but smirk at the thought.

"_There you are," The projection Arthur smiled at Ariadne and offered her a small blue umbrella. "Shall we?"_

He climbed out of the car and jogged across the parking lot to the front door, rain already starting to fall in a lazy drizzle.

He shook his head as he stepped inside, little droplets of water falling at his feet. After a quick nodded greeting with the security guard, Arthur stepped into the elevator, punching the button labeled _8_.

* * *

Once inside his apartment, he shrugged off his jacket, hanging it lightly over the back of a small leather armchair near the door. He headed into the kitchen, pulling a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He took the die out of his pocket and placed it on the table, staring at it for a moment before turning to raid his cupboards. _What have we got?_ He sighed. There was nothing.

He had been meaning to go to the store, but with his worry over Ariadne the last few days he had never gotten around to it. His thoughts were interrupted by a low, distant buzzing sound. He tilted his head, trying to place the noise when it hit him- _his cell phone!_

Arthur dove around the jacket pockets. Finding it, he flipped the phone open without bothering to check the caller ID. "Hello?" He answered breathlessly.

"Arthur? It's Ariadne," Her voice sounded cheerful, exceptionally sweet.

"Hey," He replied nervously. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." She said. "I was just thinking— maybe I could return the favor from when I had dinner at your place a few days ago. What do you think? I made grilled chicken…."

"That sounds fantastic." He smiled.

"Great."

"What time do you want me to come over?"

"How does right now work for you? I don't want to inconvenience you, though…"

"No, no!" Arthur laughed. "Now is fine."

"Good, I'll see you in a few."

* * *

Ariadne sighed as she hung up the phone. _Why?_ She wanted to scream at herself. _Why would you invite him over here?_ This was going to be _so_ awkward. She winced at the thought. "Once again," She said, bending down to pick a few CD cases up off the floor, absentmindedly placing them on a shelf in the corner of the room. "My subconscious gets the better of me."

There was a soft knock at the door and Ariadne glanced up nervously. _Well, here goes nothing…_

"Arthur, come in." She smiled, stepping back to allow him in. "Have a seat, it's almost finished." She said, hurrying into the kitchen while he looked around.

It was a nice apartment. Almost like a hotel, in fact, but an apartment nonetheless, and it was far too small for his tastes.

"Sorry about the mess," She called out to him. "But with only two rooms there isn't much I can do." She laughed. _A beautiful sound_, Arthur noted. "Not like yours," She continued. "How can you even afford that place? It's far too big to even be considered an apartment."

Arthur smiled, joining her in the kitchen. "I've been in this business longer than you have." He pointed out. "I can afford the little luxuries of life."

"Yes, well, that's all great for you." Ariadne sighed. "But when you've got student loans and tuition to pay off, you can do without."

Arthur frowned. "Why didn't you say something?" He asked.

She looked up, a confused expression on her face. "About what?"

"Your loans. I could have given you the money."

Ariadne sighed. "Because I don't _want _sympathy. I can pay it off myself. It'll just take time."

"Are you sure?" He watched her set plates out on the table.

She blushed, aware of his gaze. "Yes, I'm sure. This is how it would be if I'd never met Cobb. I'm lucky even with this much."

"Don't talk about things like that," Arthur murmured as they sat down at her tiny kitchen table. "You shouldn't think about what-if's. They'll drive you mad."

She glanced up. "I didn't mean what if I had never met you," She blushed. "That would be terrible." He smirked, and she quickly added, "I mean, I wouldn't have even had the money for this!" She laughed, looking down at her plate. _Did he really see my dream?_ She wondered. _He isn't acting any different…_

"Ariadne," She looked up, his eyes meeting hers. "What's bothering you?"

"Huh?"

"What's bothering you?" He repeated. "There's obviously something on your mind…."

She stood up and started pacing the kitchen. "What do you _mean_ what's bothering me?" She crossed her arms. "How about finding out from Yusuf what the test was for?"

Arthur swallowed, standing up and walking toward her. "Ariadne, I—" He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged away from his touch. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I didn't know," He whispered. "Not until after, and I… I just couldn't tell you in the middle of the office. Not with Eames and Yusuf there."

Ariadne realized he was right, but refused to admit it.

"I'm really sorry," He continued. "I didn't know it would bother you so much. I wasn't even going to tell you."

She turned around to speak, but, with Arthur being much closer than she expected, her lips collided with his. He froze, shocked.

She pulled away quickly, blushing as she looked away. "I'm sorry!" She gasped. "I didn't—"

"Don't be," Arthur smiled. "It was nice."

* * *

_**A/N: O:! Longest one yet! ^^ and a shocker, too. So, I had a bit of trouble thinking of what to put for this chapter. xP But I've got it. Once again, thanks to everyone who has posted ideas for me. :D I love you. lol And Arthur is getting sly. haha, I just had trouble with the ending. . I'll start Ch. 4 asap! :D**_


	4. Chapter 4

_It was nice._

Ariadne blushed. She couldn't help but notice the little things about him. The way his breath smelled like mint, the way his lips tasted like vanilla, the way his eyes had sparkled when she blushed…

Even after they ad finished eating, a heavy silence weighing down on them, and Arthur had taken his leave, thanking her numerous times for the meal, Ariadne's mind reeled with the memory of what had happened.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone, a bright noisy jingle intended to catch her attention. She glanced down at the name flashing across the screen. _Eames_.

"Hey Eames," She answered, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall across from her. "It's kinda late."

"'Ello darling." Eames replied. "Sorry about the hour. Is Arthur there?"

"No," She said slowly, confused. "Should he be?"

"Hmm. I was sure he would be…." His voice was soft, as if he were talking more to himself than to her.

"Why?" She asked cautiously.

"Hmm? Oh! I was going to ask the two of you to meet Yusuf and myself back here. We heard from Saito's friend— he's doubling the payment if we start tonight."

* * *

"$10 million _apiece_?" Ariadne gaped at him.

"Forty million…." Yusuf whistled lightly.

"What exactly do we have to do?" Ariadne asked, eyeing the briefcase Arthur had set on the table, the sleep machine hidden away inside it.

"Well," Yusuf winced. "Yoshiro, Saito's friend, believes Wilson has top secret information regarding his company's impending bankruptcy. He thinks if we're able to retrieve this information, his company will be able to stay up."

"And…?" Ariadne prompted.

"And… he wants it within the hour."

"_What?_"

"We don't stand a chance," Arthur sighed.

"Nonsense," Eames said brightly, twirling a pen between his fingers. "Forty million dollars can do wonders."

* * *

Ariadne blinked as she stepped out into the bright sunlight. She glanced around for Arthur and him stepping out of a men's suit store, Eames at his side, across the street. She smirked. Even in the dreams he was far too orderly with his clothing.

In reality, the team had been hooked up to the machine in Wilson's office in Berlin. They had taken a private jet to Germany and scheduled an 'urgent' meeting with the man. In almost no time at all, they had pulled Dom's trick and slipped a drug into his drink. Now they were somewhere in his subconscious as Yusuf watched over their sleeping forms.

* * *

Ariadne made her way over to the two men, smiling. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about avalanches." She joked, glancing at Eames.

"Yeah, yeah," He muttered. "Let's just find the bloke and get out of here."

Arthur nodded in agreement. "There," He pointed toward a man stepping out of a taxi a few cars down from where they were standing. "He's going into that office. Let's go."

"Wait," Ariadne called after them. "What's the plan?"

"Umm," Eames glanced at Arthur expectantly.

She sighed. "How about Eames and I distract him, and you find his safe?"

"Sounds good," Eames chuckled. "Pretending to be my girlfriend are we?"

"Better plan," Arthur interjected. "I'll go with her, _you_ find the safe."

Eames laughed. "Touchy today, darling?"

Arthur glared at him. "Just go find it."

Eames laughed. "Right, off we go."

They walked quietly down the street, careful not to do anything out of the ordinary so they wouldn't attract any of the projections toward them. Reaching the building, Arthur glanced up at the name. It was written in large white letters along the front, _Wilson Banking_.

_So he owns a banking industry_, Arthur thought as they entered, their footsteps echoing loudly on the polished black marble.

"Where will it be?" Eames muttered under his breath, breaking his train of thought.

Arthur blinked. _Where _would _it be?_ "Try his office," Arthur replied.

"And where would that be?" Eames hissed.

"I don't know! You're the forger you figure it out."

Eames scowled but headed off toward one of the front desks. Arthur shook his head and turned toward Ariadne. "Lets go."

"How are we going to distract him?" Ariadne whispered as they walked toward the elevators, avoiding the projections scattered around the room.

"You mean you don't have a plan? It was your idea."

Ariadne blushed as they climbed into the elevators. "Well, it was better than no idea."

Arthur smiled. "True. I suppose we can just make it up as we go."

The doors dinged open and they stepped out into the hallway, seeing Wilson a few yards in front of them. "Here," Ariadne said quietly. "Just go along with it."

She left Arthur standing by the elevators and walked quickly toward their mark. "Mr. Wilson," She purred, stepping up beside him. "Do you have a moment?"

He stared at her quizzically. "And who are you, meine Mädchen?"

She looked hurt for a moment, her fingertips resting lightly on his forearm. "You… you don't remember me?" Her lips pulled into a soft pout, and He opened his mouth to speak.

"Excuse me sir," Arthur said, walking up to them. "I don't believe I know you."

The mark looked astonished. "Nor do I know you. He replied.

"Then could you please tell me why you have your hands on my girlfriend?" Ariadne blushed. Arthur was a good actor, she decided, as he said it with more than enough venom in his voice to believe what he was saying to be the truth.

"I…" He hesitated, glancing at Ariadne, his hand grasping her arm delicately. "I don't know who she is."

Ariadne blinked. "How can you not remember me?" She said, tearfully. _Thank god for drama classes._ She thought. She'd have to thank her mother the next time she called. "After everything?" She continued, her eyes brimming with faux tears. "You couldn't even try to remember?" She wrenched her hand away, glaring at him.

Wilson was startled. "Scheiße, Mädchen!" He said. "I promise, I've never met you in my life!"

"Listen, buddy," Arthur said, turning away from Ariadne. "I don't know who you are, or how you know her, but if you make her cry again, I'll—" Arthur was interrupted by a pretty blonde woman in a silver dress and heels walking down the hallway toward them.

"Sir," She said, stopping beside the group. "This is for you." She handed Arthur an envelope, pausing to wink at Ariadne, before walking toward the elevators.

Arthur turned back to Wilson. "You'll get off easy this time," He said, taking Ariadne's hand and following the woman toward the elevator. Catching the doors as they slid closed, they stepped in beside the blonde.

As the doors closed, Arthur sighed. "That was quick,"

Eames smiled as he changed back to himself. "That's what I'm best at." He said.

* * *

They awoke quickly, all three sitting up and clutching at heir wrists. Yusuf was startled. "That was less than 5 minutes! Did you get it?"

Arthur smiled as he stood up. "I've got to make a phone call."

Ariadne watched as he headed toward his desk to call Yoshiro. She turned to Eames. "What was in the envelope?"

"Haven't a clue. I doubt Arthur's going to tell us. Am I right, darling?" He called as Arthur headed back into the room.

He grinned. "That you are. C'mon. No sense in being stuck up here, I'll buy everyone a round. Tomorrow, we're all rich."

* * *

_**A/N: Sooo.. sorry for the delay you guys. :( I've been so busy. xP But I got it finished for you all! Thank you keywordparamore for giving me the idea to use Vampire Weekend's The Kids Don't Stand A Chance in it. Just for you. ^^ hope you guys liked it. The German translations are kind of simple- 'meine Mädchen' is 'my girl', and 'Scheiße' is.. well 'sh*t'. :) Hope you liked it. As always, ideas are much appreciated.**_


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